1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to litter boxes and more particularly to an automatic litter box.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As with other pets, cats present the problem of detecting, collecting and disposing of excrements. The most popular solution is to provide a pan or tray holding kitty litter or some other substance for the household cat to eliminate in. The cat usually scratches around and digs in the kitty litter with its paws, eliminates his excretion and then covers same with the material in the pan. Due to the frequency of elimination of the cat, the litter tray must be changed at least once a week.
In homes which have small children as well as cats, the presence of kitty and excretions inside for as long as a week constitutes an attractive nuisance for the child. Many germs and diseases may be transmitted to the child from the feces of the cat. Thus, there exists a need for a more complete and complex litter box wherein soiled litter (including excretions of the cat) is disposed of conveniently out of the sight and reach of small children. Even if there are no children in the house, it is still desirable to remove and deodorize the soiled litter and excretions.
In the prior art, numerous types of devices are designed as litter boxes which are operated mainly to deposit the used litter into a closed container after use by the cat. These devices require constant attention by the owner and thus have not become commercially popular.
Some automatic devices have been designed, but for various reasons have become inoperative. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,932 requires that the cat enters from the front to step on treadmill 27 in order to activate the system. It is well known that cats are very finicky animals and it is therefore very difficult to train a cat to eliminate into a small hole (as shown in the aforementioned patent).
Thus, there exists a need in the prior art to provide an automatic litter box which dispenses litter onto a surface and empties and soiled litter and cat excretions into a closed container, irrespective of how the cat decides to enter the litter box.